of potassium cyanide having Bvidence of at least four grains Found in the body of the late Mr. Vivian 'Hugo Lanning, was given the adjourned inquest on June 20 by Me. GF. C. Walker, chief analyst to the' Public. Health' Department of the SMC, who, in Addition, corroborated the. statement of Dr., MeGolrick. that" 23
fal, After hearing the evidence me of thin" vould Of the three witnesses Mr. °C. Hi, Haines, H. M- Coroner, adjourned the inquest. 5 Mr, R. G. Scott, managing direefor of the International Funeral Directors, suid that fon June t, he received a from Mtr.' A. 'E. Lanning, him' to come' to the fat to remove the body of deceased. He asked regarding the death certificate, and Was assured that it was all right, He was told that, Dr. MeGalrick would be at the Couniry Hospital at 8 am, and would then give bed. obtainable here, and ix used in Photography acd in electroplating, for instance, The Coroner, at the close of this evidence, drew Mr. Scott's attention to what' Mr. Walker bad seid, ia} that potassium cyanide was one of the rare poisons affected by the use of formalin. He further' advised Mr. Scott in fatare that British body should nat. be touched until death certificate from the doctor concerned or a Coroner's burial eertificate was available.
The inquest was then adjourned.
'The resumed inquest on the late Lanning was again adjourned lon Jane 22, after hearing the evidence of the Number' One house: inter of hers we Pewee Hines, HM. Coroner"
trier of the S. M. Py by Mr.
portant' piece of evi this hearing by Detective: Sergeant Laurier was that although some foreign chemists will not_sell{day potassium cyanide except on a doe-tor's "prescription, "and. others will only selli it to garage mechanics and others who need it for certain processes and then only when the pur. chaser is known to them, Chinese chemists sell it freely, in quantities from one eurite up and without requiring any particulars whatsoever from their pure The late Mr. Lanni giving " evidence, left the flat at 10.03 pin. on May 31, returning the next morning Jat about 1.30." When he entered suw Mrs, Lanning, " lady friend of hhers, and Mr. Lanning's brother, He was informed that his master bale mas Was dead. At seven o'clock an am-balance took his moste o'clock the three left: ady away His mistress having told him to! clear up, the fat when she left, went into the bedroom, and changed the sheets on his late master's bed, noticing as he did so that they were wet. He saw no bottles, tumblers, or a note of any description in the then went into the sitting!
'The body.was removed to the room, where he found Your' dirty funeral "parlour, and ix tumblers, which he leaned without of formalin injected as usual. wound for the death lean 1) room that day, but the smelling them at al, "He did of Number Two boy did so. He him-to hold. post-self cleaned it the next day bui nation, He. usually noticed no glasses or anything in it) waited for u death certificate before with the exception of two water embalming, but having been assured bottles. that the certificate would be given Detective-Sergeant Laurier _said him at the hospital, he had "gone [that at about 3.45 p.m. on June 1, ahead' He had een practising for he made a search of the premises! 25 years, and several US. State] and found a number of bottles of Dowtds had. prescribed formalin as} fan inkedient. which would. not in-out in an analysis, were' dangerous medicine none of which, it turned to life. He found nothing else. He iertere with any post-mortem ext-nade @ detailed tour of various che-_ The next witness, Dr, MeGolrick, mist shops in the Central, Bubbling] Well, and French Concession dis-waid'that, after receiving tele: Phone call at about 4.20 a.m, on tricts, but eduld find no trace of Me. Lanning having bought any Sune. 1) he" immediately: went to Potassium cyanide in the week pre-Lanning? fat." There he fourd deious to his death, ceased dead) on his. bed, his arm Regarding the deceased's move-flexed. ina "convulsive attitude." ments on the evening of May 31, Death was recent. He did not men-Detective-Sergeant Laurier said that tion 'a death-certificate Mr, Lanning went to the Country Lanning, but in reply to her qui at 3 p.m. and stayed there till whether' there was Any seven o'clock, when he walked with thing' she could do, "he sujegested a friend to the Cathay Mansions. she get into touch with the funeral He stayed with him for about five directors, minutes, and left with the intention Not being sure of the cause of of walking home, cath, Re tater decided on a. post-He left home at nine o'clock, after] a mortem. "As a result. of this. he dinner, with the Found no external signs of injury going t0 the Hai nor any signa of disease or injury {Grium, although the: detective-ser-the internal organs. When eceased actually went there or no cant could mot say, Whether the opened the stomach, however, he Found it inflamed, and. the lining was corroded. He then sent. the AtStidnight oF thereabouts he, stomach contents, the stomach itself Brel home, "Pare of betectte cvgeant Lasier's enquiries were Warious chemist. shops fand part of the upper intestines to deceased's, house abd Mr. Walker for chemical investiga tion. Cause of death, he thought, my, he conduced. was' due to "some. corrosive cub: asthe cite of hip evidence, the roner" adjourned the inquest stance, "which, however, "had "not burnt the mouth Soee'tt for Forther enquires to Be He had later seen the analyst's port, which stated the potassium cyanide had been. found." He. did Aftermath of Collision hot think it possible for deceased to have taken a fatal dose ae 1.30 am.
The aftermath to an accident belived "to 4.30, "Potassium tween a Yellow Taxi and a private cyanide was net much of a corro-Jear occurred on June 23 in five of the mucous membrane. He Police Court when Mr. J. She Thought. it highly probable that the iwas fined £10 by Mr. C. H. Haine Bion hed Been deen it guid Registrar, on two charges, the fi form, lof driving in a reckless and nei Mr. F.°G. C, Walker was the third witness to be called, ard ated that he had made an analysis Civingstone, of Hamtons, gave guilty to both charges, Mr. gf the organs submitted @ Nim, ted wad subsequently found. them to brief 'resume of the facts for the contain hydrocyanic acid, the
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.